Interview with Glenn Langohr, Author of "Underdog"

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Glenn Langohr Interview

 

 

 

 

Tell us about you.

 

I’m a child of God who is saved by grace.

 

 

You have had some tough times, but have managed to persevere. Do you think without those experiences you would have still become and author?

 

I don’t think so. As a kid I was all about daydreaming about baseball, riding bikes and even flying. I have ADHD. I ran away from a broken home at 12 years old and got into hustling pot pretty early. At 17 I was living in a pot smuggler’s garage sleeping next to trash cans full of weed from Mexico. I saw an immediate opportunity to capitalize and went to the border of Mexico to find an even bigger smuggler to become my live-ins dealer. It was just weed, right? Well within a year I put together over $20,000 in cash and found a two-bedroom house to rent on the beach. The O.C. Narcotic task force interrupted my flow and took my brother and me to jail. My brother was 16 and I was 18. They kept my brother in juvenile hall and let me out as an adult to take the case to court. Minus my wad of cash, I faced a 5-day notice to vacate our new house.

 

Lost and alone, I met a speed dealer across the street at my new live in house. For the first time I tried the drug and it seemed like the answer to my ADHD. I could see things so clearly. At the time, I saw how to make my money back before my jail time. I went above my new speed dealer friend to his connection who cooked some of the best speed in San Bernardino. I did make the money back, but the Narcotic Task force seized it again and it was prison time.

 

I was stuck for 10 more years of chasing money and sitting in prison. At one point I started a limo business I named “Prestigious Transport”, bought a condo and held a waiter job at an Italian Restaurant, but gave in to my addictions after 9/11 knocked my business to the curb. Prestigious Transport turned into Ghetto Transport quick. Sitting in a cell again, broken completely, I cried out to God for forgiveness. He filled me up with purpose and I started writing my first novel Roll Call.

 

 

What first prompted you to write a book?

 

I had to make sense of my life and find purpose.

 

What has the reaction been like from those who have read your book so far? Have friends and family been supportive?

 

I had Kirkus Discoveries Nielson Media review my novel Roll Call and they said,

“A harrowing, down-and-dirty depiction--sometimes reminiscent of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic--of America's war on drugs, by former dealer and California artist Langohr. Locked up for a decade on drugs charges and immersed in both philosophical tomes and modern pulp thrillers, Langohr penned Roll Call. A vivid, clamorous account of the war on drugs.”

 

My wife’s father is John South from American Media and he told me to focus on the prison stuff so I wrote a series of novellas about prison life: Race Riot, Lock Up Diaries, Gladiator, Underdog and Prison Riot.  Underdog is the one you reviewed and gave me the opportunity to speak at UC Irvine to 100 Students as a guest Lecturer about prison conditions and solitary confinement.

 

My family has also been great.

 

 

What is your writing process like? Do you follow a rigid schedule or is it more relaxed?

 

As mentioned, I have ADHD and I don’t medicate. I have to block everything out. In prison I woke up at 4 a.m. to write to get it started before survival took over most of the concentration. I’ve been out of prison for almost 5 years and I still do the same thing.

 

There are some colorful characters in your writing, are they based on real people?

 

Yes. I paint with the true colors of life and at times construct a fictional landscape by changing names and places in prison to protect the innocent and the not so innocent. At other times it’s pure reality.

 

 

What have you learned about marketing/publishing since the release of your first book?

 

It takes a lot of visibility. Interviews, book reviews, speaking opportunities, book signings, press releases and more, and they all have to be blasted through social media sites worldwide. It’s fun but time consuming.

 

At one point as I was getting the hang of it, I went to far and it consumed me and I’m pretty sure I turned into a spammer! At that point I stopped marketing completely and went on a writing spree with the mentality that newer and better books would do my marketing for me.

 

 

What advice would you give others who have faced adversity but want to put it behind them?

 

To make what you have been through turn into a blessing. No matter what you have been through, don’t let the resentments hold you in it. Find a way to bless others because of what you’ve been through. If you have been raped, help other people who have been raped. If you have been abandoned, beaten and abused, help others in that position. If you were addicted to something, help others get out of addiction. Go to church and sing praises. Pray without ceasing.

 

 

What are your plans for the future? Any other books on the horizon?

 

I’m always writing now and I love it. After the ninth prison book, Caught In The Crossfire: Life in Lockdown, I decided to write, Powerful Prayers of Gratitude. I have played around with other books and now put all of them in audio book myself. Narrating your own writing is a very good way to improve.

 

I’m ready to go finish the Life in Lockdown series.

 

Tell us a bit about your goal with your books and what you feel people should be aware of.

 

My selfish goals with my prison books are to get them adapted into movies or a TV series. On a less selfish note I want to open the eyes of the public that this drug war is only breeding a bigger problem by locking up so many low level drug offenders, where in prison, that addiction is bred into an affliction much harder to escape. In California the prisons are so overcrowded that it’s a violent, gang-breeding machine. I’ve seen soccer moms lose their sons to a drug addiction and watched their sons get blasted with ink to fit in and come home skin heads. It’s the same thing with all the other races.

 

Any additional things you would like to say as well as links/promo items you would like to have included. 

 

Thanks for the review of Underdog and for confirming that my book covers didn’t fit the redemptive, human side to my writing. I have changed them.

 

 

Underdog Synopsis:

 

Another one of Glenn Langohr’s stunning memoirs–a brave, unflinching account of life in prison~ Prison Killers Book 4

 

The California Prison System houses a mixture of Mexican cartel members, Mexican mafia, Bloods, Crips, and thousands of other street gangs fighting for control and the author turns this story into a pulp thriller of true crime. The author of Underdog, Glenn Langohr, takes you on a journey back into prison as he remembers a prison riot days before his release date where he left his friend on the way to Pelican Bay. The story follows the author years later as he visits his friend in Pelican Bay during a prisoner developed hunger strike against sadistic and cruel guards who get off on their isolation and enjoy adding violence to their torture. A spotlight on the flaws at how Pelican Bay determines gang validation and solitary confinement.

Author Bio:

 

Glenn Langohr ran away from a broken home with a death wish and entered the drug war with abandon. Business with the Mexican Mafia and Hell’s Angels became a way of life until the Criminal Justice system interrupted him with Organized Crime charges.

In prison he was involved in riots and spent years in the hole. From solitary confinement he started writing and hasn’t stopped since. Now, he is an usher at his church and loves to reach out to other prisoners to help them turn their lives around. He speaks as a guest Lecturer at Criminal Justice colleges and writes articles for newspapers. “I want to show the world and the students and leaders of tomorrow, that we are only building bigger criminals by locking up low level offenders, where in prison, an addiction is bred into an affliction much harder to escape.”

The author will gift his books FREE from the Kindle store to those who can’t afford it.

 

Glenn Langohr’s audio books for a free sample

http://amzn.to/10qom6H

 

Glenn Langohr’s complete list on Amazon in the U.S. http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00571NY5A 

 

In the U.K.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00571NY5A 

 

My websites

http://www.audiobookprisonstories.com

http://www.lockdownpublishing.com

 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/glennlangohrcalifornia

 

 

Blog Tour Info: Bad Apple by Barbara Morgenroth

I know it's Tuesday and not Thursday. Therefore we should be having Tuesday's Weekly Musings today!

But, we are going to have a special treat and have a Tuesday Quencher! ;) You can still find our regularly scheduled Thirsty Thursday Quencher on 3/21 with Anthony Price's The House of Wood!

Are you looking to finding something new to read? Then I suggest Bad Apple by Barbara Morgenroth! Need something more convinving before you sink your teeth into the pages?

Then look no further! Library at the End of the Universe is proud to present the Bad Apple Blog Tour!

Below you will find the dates and links to the blogs hosting the first of the Bad Apple trilogy!

So, if you don't want to take my word on how awesome this book is, then I'm sure you'll take the word of the 24 Amazon reviewers which left Bad Apple with a glowing 4.3 stars, right?

No, still not convinced...

Well, then you can check out the reviews and spotlights on the following blogs!

3/18 Rambling Voices In My Head
3/19 Library at the End of the Universe
3/20 Krystal Clear Book Reviews
3/21 As You Wish...
3/22 Out of control characters
3/23 Mythical Books
3/24 Raven Reviews
3/25 Lynn's Read&Reviews
3/28 Recent Reads
3/29 Ever and Ever Sight

Convinced now?

Well, you should be! Go grab your copy of Bad Apple now for Kindle!

REAL COPS vs HOLLYWOOD

REAL COPS vs HOLLYWOOD

By Wayne Zurl

2013

Remember the TV series History versus Hollywood that originally aired between 2001 and 2005 on the History Channel? Narrator Burt Reynolds helped you debunk many of the myths perpetuated by filmmakers. I’d like to produce a show called Real Cops versus Hollywood (and some fiction writers.)

I began my police career back on the tail end of the wild and wooly days of law enforcement. Ernesto Miranda wasn’t yet a household word among career felons and Joe Wambaugh (a real cop) had just published his first novel, THE BLUE KNIGHT.

I remember the first burglary I worked with a veteran squad dick everyone called Mr. Ray, a guy willing to take the “new kid” under his wing.

Those were the days before CSI (Las Vegas, Miami, or New York.) Unless we had a homicide, bank robbery, or serial rapist, we did our own forensic work at the crime scene. We took photographs, dusted for prints, and other almost pre-historic things available to an investigator at the time.

Okay, back to my house burglary. It took me only ten minutes to establish that the break-in had been staged, for insurance purposes I assumed. The pry marks on the sliding glass door matched exactly to a sixteen ounce straight claw hammer hanging above the homeowner’s workbench. The dresser drawers were searched from top to bottom—something a good burglar never does. And the broken glass had been scattered too much. I called Mr. Ray aside and told him what I thought. He asked only one question. “Are you sure?” I nodded. His next move: He tossed the homeowner out a second floor bedroom window. His next statement: “Okay, kid, go ask that son-of-a-bitch if he wants to reconsider his complaint. Wild and wooly, not an investigative technique you should practice unless you want the Internal Affairs Bureau to have your desk phone on speed dial. So, what’s my point? Hell, I don’t know. I wanted to capture your attention.

But here’s a valid point regarding crime scene investigators—many of whom today are civilians. Now, read my lips. CSIs do not investigate crimes. They provide technical assistance to squad detectives who canvas neighborhoods looking for witnesses, check pawn shops, contact informants, interrogate suspects, and then (and only then) when they have reasonable cause to believe a certain someone committed a crime, they arrest the perpetrator—or poipuhtratah in Nu Yawk.

It’s just not logistically feasible for CSIs to “work” a case plus do all the horribly technical things they do at a crime scene and later at their office or lab and continue on until a case is cleared by arrest. Regardless of what TV tells us, it’s not possible.

I just mentioned reasonable cause to believe—sometimes called probable cause to believe—the standard of proof needed to make a lawful arrest or obtain a search warrant.

When I worked as a cop, I rarely watched TV police shows because the technicalities were so wrong I thought my head would explode. After I retired, that changed. For old time’s sake, I watched Law & Order. I loved NYPD Blue. And I even gave a few private eyes house room.

Let’s analyze Law & Order for a few minutes. Quite often, to build tension I suppose or to create illegitimate conflict perhaps (things people think are necessary in fiction) the boys and girls of the 27^th Squad would jump the gun and arrest their suspect before they had all their ducks in a row. D/Lt. Van Buren would complain, “1 PP (#1 Police Plaza—the address of NYPD headquarters) is breathing down my neck. Go out and get a clearance.”  With that admonition, Detectives Lenny Briscoe and Ed Green would break into a board meeting or doctor’s office and lock up their prime suspect—perhaps with only a reasonable suspicion—close but no cigar in laws of arrest.

Later, Chief Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy would lose a crucial piece of evidence at a pre-trial hearing or fail to get an indictment at grand jury. He’d then send one of his lovely assistant’s out on the street to backtrack and build a case the squad dicks should have tightened up prior to slapping on the cuffs.

Law & Order was a great show that ran for twenty years, but if a real detective made that many mistakes, he/she would end up walking a foot post in a very quiet neighborhood.

Hollywood also seems bent on misleading the public on the process of obtaining search warrants. When you know a suspect won’t voluntarily allow you to peek into their dwelling, vehicle, or workplace to obtain evidence or lock down the possibility that the items you seize won’t be questioned at a hearing, you should go in armed with a warrant. To get one, you don’t simply call the boss and say, “Have the day man (whomever he or she may be) get us a warrant to search…….(Where ever you want to look.)

The 4^th Amendment grants an individual protection against unreasonable search and seizure. There are exceptions to the basic rule, but this isn’t a law class and to keep me from rambling on too long, let’s agree you have the time and the best way to get a good search is to have a judge approve your warrant application by agreeing that you have good reason to believe you may find material evidence in the place you wish to look.

In my experience, the detective working the case applies for the warrant because he/she can best explain the reasonable cause to believe they have established.

One thing Hollywood gets right about search warrant applications—some judges are more pro-cop than others. Every detective has their favorite judge and may use them if they want a quick signature. But you don’t build a world-class conviction rate by using warrants that can be easily contested, resulting in lost evidence after a hearing. A good police supervisor should insure that warrant applications meet the burden of proof.

Another pet peeve of mine involves how Hollywood police supervisors never prep their cops before post-shooting press conferences. Invariably, some nit-wit reporter will ask, “Did you shoot to kill or shoot to wound?”

If you want to add a tidbit of reality to your book or story, there is only one way for your sharp cop to respond. “I shot to prevent or terminate (strike out the time frame which does not apply) the suspect’s illegal conduct.

As cops, we’re not gunslingers who don’t care if we bring’em in dead or alive and we’re not trained to shoot the gun out of a bad guy’s hand. Leave that to the heroes of those old B western movies. Police officers are trained to shoot for the largest target they can acquire—generally the criminal’s torso. Even with annual weapons qualification, many officers are not extremely good with a handgun much less distinguished experts. So, in the heat of a gunfight, all cops should make things as simple as possible and aim at the big picture.

But prior to taking that shot—using deadly physical force—the cop has to meet certain criteria. Hollywood sometimes fails to grasp this. I used to teach the law of justification in the use of force and I’d need lots more space to cover it adequately. If you plan on centering your fiction on a police shooting and you want to get the technicalities correct, some serious research is necessary to help you maintain credibility as a writer. Very basically, police officers may not use deadly physical force to prevent or terminate crimes against property. You can’t whack a kid to keep him from stealing hubcaps. If you, acting as a PO, reasonably believe it’s necessary to prevent or terminate crimes against a person, things like murder, a certain form of manslaughter, robbery (that means forcible stealing,) forcible sex crimes (rape or sodomy) or assaults that may result in serious physical injury, you may use deadly physical force—which is not limited to shooting. This is a complicated topic where generally cops have more latitude than civilians.

When I began writing fiction, I wanted cops, ex-cops, and serious fans of a police procedural to say, “This guy has gotten the details right.” No one writes without, at sometime, tacitly asking his reader for a little suspension of disbelief. But if you get those all important technicalities correct you can, with good conscience, stretch a fan’s S.O.D at an important time and in the interest of a good story.

If you’re writing about a sharp cop, have him or her get the little things right. They can make mistakes to build tension and cause your readers to grit their teeth, but don’t let them put a bloody blouse in a sealed plastic bag unless you want them to botch up an investigation.